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Metahumans and the Government
Governments are naturally inclined to monitor, regulate, and exploit things that carry a great potential of danger or power, and have thus taken a great interest in superhumans. Some governments outlaw or regulate them, some governments oppress them, and some governments recruit them. United States The United States spends more attention on super-related issues and spends more money on superhuman matters than any other government on the planet. For a while, they registered all superhumans living and working in the United States, but that practice was stopped in the mid-1990's. However, the Defense Department's practice of issuing its annual Superhuman Threat Index continues. France France followed the United States and instituted registration of all superhumans living within those borders. Unlike the United States, not only does France continue the practice but the penalties for non-compliance are much, much harsher than they ever were under the Americans. It is rumored that the Paris-based superteam called Vanguard d'France is unofficially supported by the French Government. Great Britain Great Britain also registers its superhumans, but such registration is strictly voluntary and allows a masked hero to retain his Secret Identity if some other positive form of identification is possible. In return for registration, the person in question gains access to police files and has more leniency to act as a "freelance, unofficial policeman" than a non-registered vigilante. Australia Australia has always had a close and cooperative relationship with its native superhumans, offering their full support whenever it is asked for. Israel Its an open secret that the Israeli government funds and supports every active superhero and superhero team in that small nation. Japan Japan has incorporated supers into its highly structured society with great success. As with normal crime, the number of Japanese super-criminals is very, very low. Most supers are given places in high-status corporate-sponsored teams. Others go into the entertainment industry -- the Japanese are famous (or infamous) for capitalizing on their supers. Television shows, films, and manga (comic books) are produced in floods, all about real supers. More than a few western supers, with dreams of fame, have come to Japan to get parts in film productions there. India and Sri Lanka Like Kuwait, the people of India and Sri Lanka shower affection of their supers. To the Hindus, superhuman powers are seen as a gift from the gods. The supers are brought before the priests and welcomed into the Brahmin caste, no matter what their previous station in life. They are showered with gifts and supported by the people around them, in exchange for blessing the populace with their presence and their service. No small number work for the gigantic Indian film industry. It is interesting to note that India, like the United States and Great Britain, requires its superhumans to register with the government, but the bureaucracy in charge of such things is so underfunded and understaffed that the registration law is toothless and unenforceable. Europe in General The European public loves its supers -- and sometimes its villains if they show style. Some criminals, such as Le Chat Noir of France, are cult figures both for their flamboyance and their refusal to do serious harm to others. The governments of Europe appear to be as entranced with supers as their populations are. Muslim Nations Iran, Pakistan, Khirgistan, and Afghanistan have only recently stopped killing their superhumans outright as "creatures of Satan". With the exception of Kuwait, who treat their superhumans as royalty, even the most westernized Islamic nation looks on supers with a vague distaste. The Communist World The few communist countries left in the world (most notably the People's Republic of China and the People's Democratic Republic of Korea) regiment their supers drastically. The Chinese government has declared that all superhumans within its borders are either servants of the State or are outlaws. With the exposure of their program to breed superhumans like rabbits came the news that the Chinese government sponsors a team of superhuman government agents that is larger than any five other teams combined. This team, which possesses the awkward and uninspiring title "The People's Revolutionary Superhuman Collective", has never been seen operating outside of China. Category:Encyclopedia